On a cold January night built for legacy, the Seattle Seahawks found one more stand. A 31-27 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field pushed Seattle into Super Bowl LX, where the New England Patriots await on February 8 at Levi’s Stadium. The final play that mattered was all heart and timing: rookie corner Devon Witherspoon breaking up Matthew Stafford’s fourth-and-goal throw from the 6 with the season on the line.

It was the third time these NFC West rivals had traded blows this season. Fittingly, it was decided by inches. Seattle won the Week 16 classic 38-37 in overtime; the Rams took the first meeting 21-19. Sunday’s decider felt like the tiebreaker the series deserved — a back-and-forth showcase of star quarterbacks, explosive playmakers, and two coaching staffs trading answers until the final whistle.

Sam Darnold’s statement night powers Seattle

Sam Darnold didn’t just manage this game. He owned it. Playing through a left oblique injury picked up in practice on January 15, Darnold delivered 25 completions on 36 attempts for 346 yards and three touchdowns with zero turnovers. His deep ball was on time and fearless: seven completions of 10-plus air yards, including five to Jaxon Smith-Njigba for 96 yards and a score.

Head coach Mike Macdonald put it plainly afterward: “You can’t talk about the game without talking about our quarterback… He shut a lot of people up tonight, so I’m really happy for him.” It was Darnold’s third straight turnover-free game, a calming run that has turned questions about his big-game ceiling into quiet confidence inside Seattle’s locker room.

From the jump, Darnold and offensive coordinator leaned into aggression. Rashid Shaheed opened the game with a 51-yard reception, a signal that Seattle would test the Rams vertically. The effect was steady: Kenneth Walker powered in early from 4 yards and later from 2, and Darnold spread the ball to his young targets. Smith-Njigba authored chunk plays, Jake Bobo grabbed a 17-yard touchdown, and there was a tidy 13-yard touchdown catch from Cooper Kupp in a game that never took a breath.

“Darnold didn’t blink once — he dictated the whole night.”

NFC Championship swings: special teams and discipline

In games like this, one mistake can tilt the field. The Rams blinked first after halftime. With Seattle up 17-13 at the break, Los Angeles returner Xavier Smith muffed a punt in the third quarter. The Seahawks pounced, turning the short field into points to go up 24-13. That sequence became the margin Seattle carried deep into the fourth.

But Seattle nearly gifted the Rams a lifeline. Cornerback Riq Woolen was flagged for taunting after he nearly intercepted Stafford, a 15-yard mistake that gave the Rams a first down. Two snaps later, Stafford found Puka Nacua for a 34-yard touchdown, the type of explosive response that has defined Sean McVay’s offense all season. McVay’s reaction to the final outcome summed up the night for Los Angeles: “That was a tough one.”

Even with the swings, Seattle’s poise stayed intact. Jason Myers steadied the team with a 27-yard field goal. On the other side, Rams kicker Harrison Mevis hit two first-half field goals, including the one that brought the score to 10-6, keeping the Rams attached until the late drama.

“That muffed punt was the hinge — the door never swung back shut for L.A.”

Stafford’s surge meets Witherspoon’s stop

Matthew Stafford matched Darnold’s resolve throw for throw, piling up 374 yards and three touchdowns. Kyren Williams punched in a 9-yard rushing score. Braden Fiske flashed with an 8-yard sack on Darnold. This was a full, fierce effort from the visitors that forced Seattle to answer late.

Seattle did. After a Rams push cut it to 31-27 in the third, the Seahawks managed the fourth quarter with calm, bleeding clock and staying out of danger. When the Rams got the ball for a final time, the drive had the feel of January folklore: 14 plays, 84 yards, marching all the way to Seattle’s 6-yard line. Fourth-and-4. Season on the line. Witherspoon read it, broke on it, and the ball hit the turf.

Moments later, Lumen Field shook. That’s not just a stop; that’s a program play for a No. 1 seed who entered the postseason with a franchise-record 14 regular-season wins under a first-year head coach. This team’s identity — fast, opportunistic, unafraid to lean on youth — showed up when it mattered most.

“Fourth-and-goal, ball game. Witherspoon just wrote his first Seahawks legend.”

How Seattle built this moment

This isn’t a one-week story. One round earlier, Seattle blasted the 49ers 41-6, sparked by a Rashid Shaheed kickoff return touchdown on the game’s opening play. That game set the tone for a postseason built on fast starts and clean football. Darnold’s turnover-free streak now covers three straight games, a platform any coach would take into February.

The Seahawks also handled the emotional beats. When the Rams nudged ahead or landed a haymaker, Seattle answered. One of the biggest responses came before halftime on a 79-yard touchdown drive that flipped the mood and restored a 17-13 lead at the break. That composure kept showing up: on late downs, on the edges where Kenneth Walker turned short runs into chain-movers, and in the passing game where Jaxon Smith-Njigba kept winning leverage and creating yards after the catch.

What it means: Super Bowl LX awaits

So here they are. The Seahawks are headed to Santa Clara to face the Patriots in Super Bowl LX, a matchup that will ask Darnold to keep doing what he’s done: trust his reads, protect the ball, and take his shots. It will also ask Seattle’s defense to keep its nerve in the red zone, just like it did on the snap that decided the NFC title.

There’s still polishing to do. Discipline can’t slip — those 15-yard freebies are how great quarterbacks get back up off the mat. Special teams, meanwhile, can be a weapon; the Seahawks’ playoff run has already shown how single plays in that phase rewire games.

But the bones of a champion are here: a quarterback playing his best football, young stars making big plays, and a defense that believes the last four yards of the field belong to them. On Sunday night, they did.